Recover
by Aklee
Summary: "It occurred to him that this was probably the first time that their usual roles had been reversed. Instead of Taichi attempting to draw him out of one of his uncommunicative moods, the responsibility of cheering up his friend fell on him. And Yamato was at a complete loss for what to do."


Taichi was sitting very, very still. His shoulders hunched slightly and he had his hands clasped his lap. The remnants of his lunch lay discarded by his feet. He seemed to be so motionless that Yamato had a hard time figuring out if he was even breathing. Despite the sudden chilly wind that ruffled his hair, Taichi's eyes never wavered from the scene in front of him.

Yamato didn't need to follow his gaze to know what he was looking at... or, more precisely, _who_ he was looking at.

_Shin Tamura. _

Shin Tamura who at this very moment was down by the tennis courts talking to their redhead best friend. Shin Tamura who suddenly seemed to have more in common with her than anyone else. Shin Tamura whose presence made her light up and smile almost instantly. Shin Tamura who was so generous and sincere that even Yamato couldn't find a reason to dislike him. Shin Tamura – the boy with whom Sora shared everything starting with the initials of her name.

Sora Takenouchi and Shin Tamura. Shin Tamura and Sora Takenouchi.

Their growing friendship and budding attraction to each other had been obvious to all of them.

Except Taichi.

As Yamato approached the bleachers, the brunet turned to face him. His eyes didn't hold any of the disappointment or jealousy or hurt that Yamato expected, but only resigned acceptance.

"I'm going home," he said quietly before Yamato could say anything. He gathered up the trash on the ground and slung his gym bag over his shoulder.

"I'm heading the same way."

The silence that settled between wasn't awkward exactly but it was definitely unusual. Taichi was rarely this upset about anything – and definitely not for such an extended period of time. While Yamato didn't think his friend had been actively avoiding the rest of their group, he wasn't doing anything to be particularly social either.

"Are you going to follow me all the way to my apartment?" Taichi asked suddenly.

It was only then that Yamato realised they had already passed the intersection that would have led to his own building. And he still hadn't even done anything to make Taichi feel better. "Yes."

Taichi looked a little surprised at the abrupt answer. Then he shrugged, although Yamato couldn't tell if his reaction was accepting or dismissive. It occurred to him that this was probably the first time that their usual roles had been reversed. Instead of Taichi attempting to draw him out of one of his uncommunicative moods, the responsibility of cheering up his friend fell on him.

Yamato was at a complete loss for what to do.

As the heavy silence stretched on, Yamato felt more and more inadequate. Eventually, in his desire to say or do _anything_ at all that would snap Taichi out of his melancholy, he found himself narrating a story about the band which had been funny at the time. When Taichi did nothing to indicate that he had been listening, the blond trailed off.

After a few minutes, Yamato cleared his throat. "Rumour has it that your sister has the hots for my brother."

Taichi's eyebrows shot upwards.

"I'm aware that I've known her since she was eight years old. But really, you know how girls are at this age."

Taichi continued to stare at him.

"All angst and hormones."

Taichi's lips twitched.

"And Takeru is so young and innocent."

Taichi graced him with a ghost of a smile.

"Everyone knows that teenage girls are only after one thing."

"I'll have a word with her," Taichi replied, the tiniest hint of humour seeping into his voice.

"You better. Because if she tries anything funny, I'll have to take extreme measures."

"Yeah? Such as?"

"You don't want to know. But believe me, when I'm done with her even the bare mention of Takeru's name will send a jolt of paralysing, cold terror to the core of her vey being."

"I will make sure she is duly warned."

"Good." Yamato gave a satisfied nod. He heard Taichi chuckle.

They stopped in front of the brunet's apartment and Taichi seemed to be preoccupied again. Yamato wasn't sure if he wanted his company or whether he should just leave his friend alone.

Very quietly, Taichi spoke. "He seems like a nice guy."

Yamato thought back to how Shin always offered to walk Sora home no matter how late it was, that he asked about her when she wasn't around, and how much of an effort he was making to get to know all her friends because it was important to her. "Yeah."

"Yeah," Taichi said as he let out a long breath of air.

"I suppose," Yamato mused after a few moments, "we can talk to Hikari and Sora together and instil in them the importance of not to taking advantage of unsuspecting boys."

A slow grin spread over his face – goofy, huge and unmistakeably Taichi. "Teenage girls and their hormones."

"Teenage girls and their hormones," Yamato repeated as he shook his head in mock exasperation.

"They seem so innocent."

"And yet, they only ever want one thing."

"It's the quiet, respectable seeming ones who are the most dangerous."

"They're definitely the ones that we need to stay away from most of all."

Taichi laughed. His eyes seemed clearer and less distant all of a sudden, as if he was finally really seeing Yamato. "Why are we loitering around here? You want to come in and do something?"

Yamato smiled. "Sure."


End file.
